The Misadventures of Charlie Jones and a Winter Spirit
by Nanu Kitty
Summary: 16 year old Charlie Jones, always marked down as "trouble-maker" by the teachers, takes care of her 7 year old little brother, Toby, with a little help of her sick grandmother. When Jack Frost saves her life on a lake, they become... a strange type of friends: argue, joke, argue, and so forth. But a new, dark spirits are rising... minor swearing (barely any); Beta: xxxxFrostbitexxx
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Charlie Jones laughed as she raced her seven year old brother to the lake. This was his first time going ice-skating, and only her fifth. She slowed a little, as if she were getting tired, and let Toby run ahead. She then stayed only a foot behind him as they reached the small, frozen lake. The two collapsed, heaving for breath, before they finally stood up and got their skates on.

"Just a second, I need to test the ice to make sure it can hold us." Charlie warned, standing up and skating tentatively onto the ice. It didn't crack, so she skated out slowly to the center. Not even a hairline crack. The sixteen year old skated back over to her brother and grabbed his hand, slowly easing him onto the ice. His skates where wobbly under him, but she had a firm hold so he wouldn't fall. "There's nothing to it, it's like dancing." Charlie smiled.

Toby's face scrunched up. "But I'm a boy! Boys don't dance!"

"Well, I consider myself a boy, and I know how to dance." She replied. Then, as if to prove her point, she did a goofy disco dance with her free hand with a crooked grin. Toby rolled his eyes, but couldn't suppress his laugh.

"You're so embarrassing!" She just shrugged and replied, "It's called having _fun, _and you know that saying, 'Dance like no one's watching.' Now come on! Are we going to stand here, freezing our butts off? Or am I going to teach you how to skate?" And with that, she skated in small, graceful strokes with Toby stumbling behind her.

"Stand here and watch how I move my feet." She ordered, letting go of his hand. Immediately, he fell backwards. They both laughed, "Or sit and watch, doesn't matter." Charlie straightened her white beanie, smoothed down her brown hair, and glided around only using simple movements. Toby watched her carefully, before letting out a little cry as he looked down. She immediately looked up. "What's wrong, Toby?" The boy said nothing, but pointed to where he was sitting. Little cracks were spreading underneath him. Charlie muttered a curse and skated over, trying to keep her weight light.

"It's okay, don't panic. Umm… I know! What about a story? You love stories!" Toby only nodded, terrified. "Alright. There's an old tale about this lake, it originated about three hundred years ago." Charlie skated over back to land and began searching for something.

"It was about a boy, whose name is lost, but was considered a hero. He took his little sister out skating, and his mother told them to be careful. Once they got to the lake, the boy forgot to check the ice. In excitement, his little sister skated right onto the ice." She found what she was looking for. It was a long branch with another branch sticking out of the top of it on the side. "When she was out to the middle, it began cracking. The boy kept a cool head," Charlie skated back onto the pond with the branch, getting as close as she could to Toby which was cracking the ice more.

"He suggested that they play a game and have a little fun. He made his way over to her, barefoot, with a shepherds crook that his father gave to him. He pretended to play hopscotch over to her." She stretched out the stick, hooking it behind her brother. "When she hopscotched nearer to the boy, he stretched out his staff, hooked it around her, and used his momentum to bring her to the solid ice. Unfortunately, he came into her place and fell into the ice. But he had saved his sister."

Then she leaned in a bit closer and finished softly, "They say that if you believe in him, then he'll protect you when you're on this lake. And right now, I believe in him with all my heart, and you need to, too." Charlie got the stick positioned right behind the boy and tugged, sending him sliding back to the shore. Unfortunately, she was stuck in his place now, just like the boy, since her skates had sent her sliding. "Damn it." She muttered, to quiet for Toby to hear.

As the ice cracked even more under the older girl's weight, she couldn't help but send a quick prayer to the spirit who had died there, and did believe in him for just that moment. Suddenly, the air chilled even more around her, and there was a boy standing in front of her. He looked around 17, had snowy white hair, bright blue eyes, a pale complexion, and he was barefoot. He wore a blue hoodie with frost patterns around the neck, sleeves, and pocket, with brown leggings and he carried a shepherds crook.

With a determined expression, he slammed his staff onto the ice. Immediately, the cracks closed. Unfortunately, the force and power of it sent her hurtling backwards, and she hit her head on a tree and passed out.

* * *

**A/N:**** Hey guys! I apologize, I need to work on The War Begins, I know, but I just need a break from Greek mythology. So, I've come up with this! I'm sorry that it's so short, chapters will get longer in the future, and this was kind of a prologue.  
I love RotG! It's my favorite Disney movie (is it even Disney?) and I'm way too obsessed with it than I should be for people my age.  
Oh, and happy Valentine's day!  
Well, until the next chapter, review, favorite, and/or follow!**

**~Nanu Kitty**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Charlie blinked awake, head throbbing. She groaned and reached up to rub it. There was a bump where her head had hit- _wait, hit? Oh yeah. _She was on the lake, teaching Toby how to ice-skate, then he fell backwards and the ice started cracking. She had told him the story of Burgess's hero, then pulled him out of the way and… she frowned. After that, it got fuzzy, except for a flash of blue and a giant pain in the back of her head.

Charlie looked around warily. She was in her bedroom. "How did I get here?" she murmured to herself, then her eyes widened, "Toby!" Immediately there was a chorus of pattering feet and the seven year old was in her room, green eyes glistening with tears.

"You're awake!" he cried, running over and burying his head in her lap. "'Course I am, Tobe! You can't get rid of me that easily!" she teased, stroking his brown hair. He was the spitting image of his older sister.

"I don't wanna go ice-skating ever again." The boy suddenly said.

Charlie looked down at the weeping boy. "Toby, look at me." She spoke gently yet slightly commanding. Slowly, he turned his face up to her. "Accidents happen, okay? I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes we don't know what it is, but there is always a reason. Like this time, it proved that we need to drop something heavy on the lake to test it. Now, I have a favor to ask. Well, two. The first one, don't worry too much about me. I'm tougher that I look, and have my ways of worming out of sticky situations." At this, Toby frowned.

"But worms don't live in sticky places, they live in dirt." Toby said. Charlie laughed. "Yeah, I suppose they do. Let me rephrase that. I can get myself out of trouble pretty much always, you just leave it to me. Now," she bent down to his eye-level, "The second favor is to always see the good in situations, no matter how dark it is. Can you do those two things for me?"

"Yeah. But I'm always gonna worry 'bout you." Toby smiled. She ruffled his hair.

"Well, I would rather have that than you not caring at all! Now, I know for a fact that you can't pick me up or drag me, so how in the world did I end up here?"

"Well… you flew backwards, hit a tree, and passed out. So when you wouldn't wake up, I ran into the neighborhood and got your friend Elizabeth. She carried you here and set you on your bed, set up the icepack and stuff, then she had to leave to go to work. She left about 20 minutes ago." Toby explained. Charlie nodded and stood up.

"Well kiddo, I think it's time for lunch!" They went downstairs and Charlie looked around. "Oh yeah, I need to run to the grocery store. I'll do that later. Let's just order pizza!" Toby brightened at that. Pizza was his favorite. So, the older girl called Little Caesar's Pizza and ordered a medium pepperoni pizza.

"Hey Tobe, I'm gonna run down to the library and grab a hold, okay? Try not to burn the house down. If the pizza guy comes, give him this." She set down ten dollars on the table, gave him a quick kiss on the head, grabbed her jacket, and walked out the door.

She didn't have a car. But the library was just two blocks away, so it was okay. As she walked down the sidewalk, a frown crossed her face. There was something that she didn't quite remember…what was it? Charlie sighed in exasperation. As she turned the corner, there were kids having a snowball fight. She smiled slightly at the sight, but turned and kept walking. Beautiful frost patterns adorned the windows of houses, and it was snowing lightly. It all gave her a headache. She felt as though she were so close to remembering, but couldn't grasp it.

Charlie turned the last corner and entered into the library. "Hello, Charlie. How are you guys doing?" the librarian, a kind old woman named Mrs. Keith, asked from the desk.

"We're doing great, thanks Mrs. Keith." The pair smiled warmly at each other. Charlie turned away to the holds section and found her book, _Sherlock Holmes._ She was about to leave, but then another book caught her eye. It was white, and had a pale blue snowflake on the top and bottom of the spine. In the middle, it had two words printed in it in golden cursive; _Jack Frost. _She stared at it for a second, before taking it off the bookshelf carefully. It also said _Jack Frost_ with golden cursive on the cover, but there were frost patterns decorating the four corner of it. It had a golden clasp in the middle to keep it from opening and getting the pages crumpled, but could be easily undone.

Charlie took it and her other book to the front desk and checked out. "Bye Mrs. Keith! Merry early Christmas!" she called.

* * *

Charlie walked into her warm house, setting the books on the floor. The money was still on the counter, so the pizza guy still hadn't come.

"I'm home!" she called.

"Ok! I'm up in my room!" Toby yelled back. She flopped down on the couch with the '_Jack Frost' _book and undid the clasp. On the first page was the author's note_. "This book is a collection of descriptions of Jack Frost, the mythological spirit of winter, bringer of snow. It is by several authors listed in the back. Please know that any or all of these could be real."_ She scanned the rest of the author's note, finding mostly copyright things and such, so she turned the page. It was on a man with frozen white hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin. He was seen in the movie "The Santa Claus". There was Old Man Winter, Jokul Frosti, and a ton of other descriptions.

However, when she skipped through the most ridiculous descriptions, she found one that caught her eye. It had a delicately painted picture of a boy about eighteen, with snow-white hair and shockingly blue sapphire eyes. He carried a shepherds crook and was barefoot. He wore a brown shawl, shirt, and brown leggings. He had a mischievous grin that would make any school teacher immediately say, "Oh no you don't!" and plop him in the front of the classroom.

For his personality description, it said, _"Jack Frost is like my brother. He's brave, kind, and can always make someone laugh. Although he can be annoying at times, it's all good nature, and he's impossible to not like. He loves to play with children, and would protect all of them with his life." _Charlie flipped to the very end of the book where the list of authors was. The one that wrote the previous Jack Frost myth was Emma Overland, who had died about three hundred years ago.

Charlie jumped as the doorbell suddenly rang. She composed herself quickly, setting down the book and opening the door. "Sorry about the delay, Ms. Jones, we had a small amount of chefs today, seeming as the flu has been going around." He apologized. "It's fine, thanks for getting to us at all!" She smiled at him and handed him the money. She took the pizza and shut the door.

"Toby, pizza's here!" she yelled up to him.

"Coming!" he ran downstairs, and Charlie opened the steaming box. They each took a slice out and bit into it. Toby closed and eyes and hummed, "Mmm…"

"You got that right, kiddo." She grinned, taking another bite.

* * *

It was 3:34 PM when one of Toby's friends came around, Jamie Bennett. There was a knock on the door, and Charlie went over to answer it. "Hey Jamie! What can I do for you?" she smiled.

"Can Toby play?"

"Yeah sure, I'll go get him." As she turned around to go get Toby.

Jamie suddenly asked, "Hey, is that a book about Jack Frost?" he pointed to the book that she got earlier that day.

"Yeah, I found it at the library. Pretty neat, huh?" Charlie grinned.

"Yeah. Hey, guess what?" the boy beamed.

"What?"

"I met Jack Frost! I was his first believer and I'm his best friend!"

Even though she barely believed in that stuff anymore, she knew you had to be careful with kids. They knew when you were faking it. "Seriously? You'll have to introduce me sometime!" She was careful not to let her eyes betray her. After all, "eyes were the windows to the soul".

Jamie brightened, "Okay! Next time he comes around I'll tell you!" _Son of a biscuit and a cup of tea,_ Charlie thought to herself. _What have I gotten myself into? _

She smiled at him, then called Toby down. "Jamie's here!"

He came running down.

"Hi!"

"Hi!" Both boys greeted. "So what are you two going to do?" The teen asked.

"Build snow forts and have a snowball fight!" Jamie replied.

"Sounds fun. I might join a bit later. First I need to straighten up the house for Gran." She grinned at them. "Well, go get your winter stuff on, Tobe."

Five minutes later, Tobey was bundled up and ready to go. "You two have fun! I'll come and get you in two hours or so to have hot chocolate." Both of the boys cheered. Everyone thought that Charlie's hot chocolate was the best.

As they walked out the door, Charlie shut it and gazed at the house. Not much to be done. She adjusted the pillows, cleared off the counters, and swept the floor. Good as new. Her eyes flicked to the little desk in the corner. Well, not exactly the desk, but the drawer in the desk.

"Not going to open it. Not going to open it. Not going to open it…" she muttered repeatedly to herself as she opened it, inwardly groaning. _Why did I open it? _There were pictures of her mother and father, and the memories came flooding back, first of her father, then of her mother.

_They were camping in the woods, and Jeff Jones had gone looking for more fire wood when a storm started up. Unfortunately, it didn't start as a small pitter-patter; it just came down all at once. Thunder and lightning came with it; the whole packaged deal. The sky was clouded, allowing no light into the forest. He stumbled blindly around, dropping the firewood and yelling for his family. He was farther away than he expected, and just kept getting farther. With no light, it was impossible to see any familiar land markers. Suddenly, lightning struck only two feet away from the man. The shock that went through the ground covered him in third-degree burns, and he fell to the ground, dead. The lightning had started a forest fire, and it raged through. Marianne Jones and little six year old Charlie had woken up and ran through the forest to their car. They had stayed there for a while, waiting for Jeff, but he never came. Ever since, both have been terrified of storms._

_ Now, Charlie was eight years old, and Marianne had taken them on a small boat ride. It was all peaceful, but they had missed the sign that said that there were sharks in the water. Every now and then, Charlie thought she saw a silver flash in the water or a fin cut the surface, but they would disappear quickly, so she just left it to the fact that there were mermaids in the water, like any child would. That is, until the fins started circling the boat and her mother screamed. Charlie had done a research paper on sharks, and she knew those curved dorsal fins anywhere. So, she held her mother's hand and called for help. They both did. Fortunately, they're cries where heard, and a rescue boat came along. It was a big plastic one, not easy to chew through. The Jones' boat was small and made of wood. Marianne tossed Charlie up first, and was about to get up herself when a shark grabbed hold of her leg and dragged her down, everybody screaming the entire time._

Charlie blinked. _Stupid inner self. Why did you open the freaking drawer? _She quickly wiped away the tears and stood up. "I think I've earned myself the right to a snowball fight," she said to herself, getting on her winter clothes and heading outside. This was going to be the best snowball fight ever.

* * *

**Hello! It took me a while to do this chapter, I was going to have Jack be at her house taking care of her or something, but that was pretty awkward, so I decided that she can't remember because she hit her head on a tree. LOGIC TIME!  
Toby couldn't see Jack because he was too scared for his sister. Charlie can't remember Jack at the moment, but little things remind her of him. It's like when you have that word on the tip of your tongue but just can't get it out. Emma Overland is Jack's sister. I was going to make her be Pippa, but wiki says Pippa is Jamie's friend. Emma imagines Jack Frost like her brother, but she saw other descriptions of him, so she changed his hair color and color, so it looks exactly like Jack. Charlie loves little kids, so she lets her walls down when they're around. Her grandma has work most of the day and gets home around dinner time.  
So, this chapter is 4 pages long and about 2K words without the A/N, so I just want to let you guys know that some will be shorter and some will be longer. I'll try to make each about 1K or over though.  
Thanks Creativespirit28!  
One more thing. This is being beta's by xxxxFrostbitexxxx, so a special thanks to her!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!**

* * *

Charlie was grinning like an idiot by the end of the snowball fight along with the other kids. They were all exhausted and were trudging back to Charlies house for hot chocolate.

"Gran isn't back yet, so try not to make too much of a mess, 'kay guys?" she glanced back at them.

They all nodded and said, "Okay!" She unlocked the door and went straight into the kitchen, getting out the mix and putting a pot of water on the stove. While it was boiling, she walked back into the television room where all of the kids had crashed. Jamie was telling a story to Toby. Charlie leaned on a wall and listened in.

"… and Santa Claus is this big Russian guy with epic double swords! His sleigh is _huge,_ like a jet-fighter plane mixed with a sleigh! Then there's Jack Frost! He's my best friend. Ya see, I was his first believer. When Pitch Black, the Bogey Man, started rising, I was the last believer in the Guardians. Just when I was losing faith, he came and helped me believe again..." Charlie heard the water boiling and mentally cursed, dashing back into the kitchen.

She turned the stove on low and dumped the powder in. From the other room, she heard Toby gasp, "Wow! I want to meet Jack!" She smiled slightly. _That's right, kiddo. Keep your childhood innocence while you can. _

Charlie stirred in the mix, then when it was done, she poured it into eight cups. She was about bring the cups into the television room, but a snowball suddenly hit the window. She jumped and looked out. Nobody was there. Charlie gasped as intricate frost patterns started spreading across the window.

"What the…" she breathed, eyes widening even more as finger marks started moving across the glass, making one letter at a time until forming two words that would change Charlies life forever...

_Jack Frost._

She stumbled backwards as a boy formed in front of her, then suddenly everything clicked. "Y-you're the boy from the lake." Quickly, she grabbed a frying pan.

"Yeah, I am. What are you doing with that-" the boy was cut short by a loud 'BANG' and crumpled to the floor. Charlie set down the frying pan as Jamie, Toby, and the rest of the kids gathered in the kitchen.

"Charlie! We heard a bang! Is everything oka-" Toby stopped as he spotted the boy.

"Jack!" Jamie shouted, running forward. The teen was officially confused now. Jamie knew this guy? "Charlie, did you seriously hit Jack Frost with a frying pan?" the brown haired boy exclaimed, slapping his hand to his forehead.

Charlie gave a sheepish smile, "Uh...maybe? Well, how was I suppose to know that he was Jack Frost?" She crossed her arms.

"White hair...Frost on his hoodie..." Jamie smirked. Charlie winced. He did have a point.

"Well...he could just be a rebellious teenager with a good sense in style!" She exclaimed. Jamie sighed.

"Charlie, tell me, how did he get here?"

"He...just appeared right in front of me." She sighed in defeat

* * *

They had set Jack in a spare room. Jamie had explained that he was Jack Frost, spirit of winter and guardian of fun, while Charlie sat back in an armchair, trying extremely hard to believe every word he was saying while rubbing her temples and processing the thought that Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman were real.

According to Jamie, Santa Claus was a big Russian guy that preferred to be called North, also the guardian of wonder; the Tooth Fairy was a bubbly hummingbird hybrid fairy who could throw a good punch and was the guardian of childhood memories named Tooth; the Easter Bunny was a six-foot tall, Australian, kangaroo-looking rabbit who could throw boomerangs and was the guardian of hope and went by Bunny, short for Bunnymund; and the Sandman was a mute, short man called Sandy, guardian of dreams. They all made up a group called "The Guardians" led by the Man in the Moon, who never bothered to show his face to them and barely speak unless needed.

_Brilliant. Just another few things to add to my list of confusion for the rest of my life. _Charlie thought sarcastically to herself. Of course, it only got worse.

The Guardians battled this guy named Pitch Black, the Bogeyman of course. "He wears this really long black robe, he's deathly pale with creepy golden-yellow eyes that I think resemble an eclipse, and comes into your bedroom to give you nightmares. Oh, and he doesn't have eyebrows!" Jamie described.

"So, basically, he's a vampire cannibal cross-dressing creeper who shaves his eyebrows?" Charlie summed up.

"Yeah, sure." Jamie gave her a strange look.

"Is that all?"

"Pretty much."

"Awesome." she grinned. "So, what do we do when Jack wakes up?"

He shrugged. "You two get to meet. Oh crap!" he exclaimed suddenly, looking at the clock. "We have to go!" Everybody groaned but piled out the door, with a chorus of "Bye, Charlie and Toby!" Of course, taking their hot chocolate with them in paper cups.

"Sure, leave us with the troublesome winter spirit who could wake up at any minute and freeze me to death." Charlie grumbled, glancing at the knocked out form of the boy with an ice pack on his forehead.

"Hey Toby, warm up some pizza for dinner. I'm just gonna make sure that he's okay." she ordered, jerking her head at Jack. Toby nodded obediently and ran to the kitchen.

The teen walked over to the winter spirit and knelt beside his makeshift bed on the couch. "Hey, sorry for knocking you out with a frying pan." she chuckled quietly, "I guess it's a sort of instinct, seeming as I'm so protective of Toby since everyone else is gone except for Gran. But she might as be, since she's getting a bad cold and she's gone most of the time. Maybe I'm going crazy, talking to an unconscious winter spirit, but it just makes me feel better inside that I apologized. Anyway, you get some rest and wake up soon. After all, you have some explaining to do." she said, poking his chest slightly at the last part then standing up.

As if on cue, the garage door opened and their grandmother's cheery voice came echoing through the house. "I'm home! How was your day?"

Charlie walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Gran! It was epic! We had a snowball fight!"

"Sounds fun." she sniffed the air. "Pizza for dinner?" Toby nodded and ran up to hug his grandma.

"Hey, Gramma Celia!"

"Hi Toby!" The 69 year old woman started a coughing fit.

"Gran!" Charlie cried out, running forward, but the old woman waved her off.

"I'm fine, just a tickle in my throat." she excused herself.

The sixteen year old crossed her arms. "You've been saying that for three weeks now, and your 'tickle' seems to be getting worse."

"Bah, I'll be fine. Let's eat that pizza already. You have school tomorrow, remember? Both of you are to be in bed by 9:30." she dismissed herself, getting the pizza out of the microwave and setting it on the table.

"It's chilly in here, did you open a window or something?" she asked, rubbing her arms.

"Oh yeah! Sorry Gran. I'll go and close it!" Charlie said quickly, jumping up and running to the guest room. The stupid winter spirit was freezing her house over. She set the heating up to 69 and entered the room.

Jack sat on the couch he had been placed on and was rubbing his head. Charlie leaned against the doorway and hissed, "You have explaining to do, but first, try to not make a winter wonderland out of my house or scare Gran. She's already catching a cold and we don't have the money to treat her if she got a heart attack." before running back to the kitchen.

The trio finished up their dinner as Jack tried to process what was going on.

Their grandmother had sent them to bed, then shuffled up to her room. Charlie waited until she heard the familiar snores that said she was asleep before creeping downstairs to the guest room. The winter spirit was sitting on the window sill, tapping the glass with his staff and making intricate frost patterns.

She walked over and stood next to him, crossing her arms. "Care to explain why you were at the lake then at the window in my kitchen? That's pretty stalker-ish you know."

Jack jumped and turned to her. "I- uh... You can see me?"

"Well, somebody's not the brightest crayon in the box. If I couldn't see you, why would I be talking to you?"

"I'm plenty bright!"

"Incorrect grammar. Tsk, tsk."

"Hey! I don't even know your name and you're insulting me!"

"Be quiet, you're going to wake Gran and Toby."

The pair glared and each other for a minute in silence, which was broken by Charlie. "I'm Charlie. Charlie Jones. Now, answer my first question, _without_ yelling."

Jack gave in, "Fine. I guard the lake, so when you almost fell in, I saved you. Only a few little kids believe in me, so I thought that it would be cool to have a teenager who believes."

"Right. Well, nice to meet you Jack Frost. Sorry for hitting you in the head with a frying pan. And now," she paused dramatically. "This whole day has been a brain overload." and with that, Charlie fainted.

* * *

**Right-o then! I apolagize for the sort-of cliffhanger... and that this chapter is shorter than the last one, but it's like, 1,500 words. **

**Anyway, updates may be slow because my drunk uncle broke my wrist and finger a few days ago, so it's hard for me to type. Don't worry about my uncle, he got his punishment and is not allowed near me or my brother (he tried to hurt him first, but I got in the way, and that's why he broke it). But yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry too much about me.**

***hugs Scarlett* My chapters would be unorganized without you!**

**Ok, my few reviewers out there, please give a big thanks to xxxxFrostbitexxxx for editing these chapters! She's been a great help. And, she came up with the conversation that Jamie and Charlie had when she wacked Jack with the frying pan! (I may or may not have gotten the idea of the frying pan from Tangled...)**

**Cyber cookies and Sandy plushies for all that review! (::)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

Jack didn't think his day could get any weirder.

First, a teenager and her little brother went skating on his lake, and apparently it was the little boy's first time. Who skates on a lake for their _first time?!_ They should just go to an indoor rink, then there won't be a risk of the ice braking and someone dying.

Second, the girl knew his human back story, and apparently could see him for a second before she got knocked out but her brother couldn't.

Third, she couldn't see him or seem to remember him as she went around town. He was sure when he had try to stop her and she walked right through him.

Fourth, he wrote his name on the glass, _then _she could see him, only to hit him on the head with a freaking _frying pan._

And fifth, he woke up in a room that he never saw before, then the teenager tells him not to freeze her house, comes back at night, then faints.

Confusing.

As soon as Charlie fainted, Jack went into brotherly-care mode, scooping her up and walking to what he thought would be her room, then plopping her on the bed ungracefully.

It had been only a few minutes when Charlie let out a groan and her green eyes fluttered open. "Wha- oh. It's you." She muttered, sitting up and giving Jack a dirty look.

"What did I do?" he protested, holding his hands up.

"You were freaking watching me sleep, pervert!"

"_You _were the one that fainted. What was I suppose to do, leave you on the floor? Oh, and your forehead is bleeding." Jack replied, grinning and leaning on his staff.

Charlies hand wiped away the trickle of blood from her head. "Yeah, it is. Well, you're still a pervert for watching me sleep." She stood up and got a strip of black cloth from her dresser, tying it around the injury so that it looked like she was a ninja.

"No, I'm not! I carried you up to your room, plopped you onto your bed, and was making sure you were okay before I left." He protested.

She turned around. "I thought you were the guardian of fun, not the guardian of logic and explanations."

Jack looked at her with a newfound respect. "You're pretty good at this type of stuff, you know."

"What's that suppose to mean?" she asked suspiciously.

The winter spirit chuckled. "I mean that you have good comebacks for arguments. That could save your live one day."

"Like if the cannibal vampire cross-dressing creeper who shaves his eyebrows come back?" Charlie asked innocently.

"What?" Jack stared at her.

She shrugged. "Somebody Jamie mentioned. What was his name… Strike? No, Base! No… I think he's known as the Booger Man?" she said, trying to remember.

He burst out laughing. "Y-you mean Pitch?"

"Yeah, that's the one!" she grinned.

At this, he laughed even harder. "He's the _Bogeyman, _and why do you think he's a cannibal vampire cross-whatever?"

"Well, he's pale like a vampire, has golden/yellow eyes like a cannibal, has a robe that looks like a dress, he doesn't have eyebrows, and stands in your room and under your bed, watching you sleep. I suppose that means you two are both perverts." Charlie summed up with a grin.

"I am not a _pervert!_" he glared at her.

"Okay, okay. You are most definitely are not a pervert." She said, still wearing a cocky grin. Suddenly, there was a flash at the window. Both of them ran to it at the same time to see more flashes of purple and a blackish red.

Out on the street, a crack had erupted on the road and smoke, the color of the flashes, was pouring out of it.

"Well, this is cliché." Charlie broke the silence that had come between them.

"What do you mean?"Jack asked, keeping his eyes trained on the sight below them.

"Crack in the road. Smoke pouring out. Obviously, something evil is going to come out soon. And someone, most likely us since we're seeing it, is going to have to come and save the world. Way to unoriginal." She explained with a roll of her eyes. "I say we get front row seats." She grinned, opening the window. It didn't have a screen, so the two hopped through and sat on the roof, waiting for something to happen.

She ran inside one more time, then came out with her frying pan and just shrugged when Jack looked at her.

There were a few more flashes when something finally happened. Two figures emerged from the crack, looking vaguely humanoid, but their silhouette was distorted from the smoke. "Finally," a British female voice hissed. "I thought we would never be able to rise, even after Pitch promised us." Jack froze **(No pun intended ~Nanu HA! THAT'S HILARIOUS! ~Frostbite)** at the mention of Pitch, while Charlie just nodded slightly as her prediction came true.

"Yes. We've waited long enough. It would have been easier to attack while the Big Four were still healing after the battle. But it doesn't matter, they could barely take the Bogeyman down even with Jack Frost's help, so how will they cope with the two of us at whole power?" a second voice, also British but definitely male, sneered.

"Big _Four?_ I'm a Guardian too, you know…" Jack muttered.

"Yeah, but 'Big Five' doesn't sound as impressive." Charlie smirked.

"Shut up." He replied, before they both turned back to the scene before them.

The fog had cleared, revealing a woman and a man, looking to be in their early twenties. The woman was wearing a skinny dark purple and black dress that reached just past the knees, wearing her black hair with purple streaks up in a bun. Her skin was fairly tan, and she could've been beautiful, if not for her face. The skin on her face was stretched, showing every bone, almost like a skeleton, but there were wrinkles too. Her nose was curved at the top, then pointed at the bottom. The worst part was her eyes. They were sunken into her skull, but they glowed a sickening with jealousy at her surrounding, and pictures of people arguing or fighting over precious items were reflected in them.

The man wore a dark red and black striped tuxedo, black dress shoes, and white silk gloves. He had equally tan skin and black hair, but with dark red streaks and it was combed back. Again, the worst part was his face. The skin was also tight around his jaw, but everything about it seemed angry. His big eyebrows furrowed downwards, his nose crooked, and his mouth frozen in a scowl. The man's eyes were the same color as the streaks in his hair, but glowed and practically radiated hatred for all things with fire flickering in the irises, destroying towns and people.

Charlie attempted to scoot backwards, but her foot knocked a shingle off the roof. Both new spirits turned their heads towards them. "Oops." She smiled apologetically at the two. "Hate to disturb your master plans of taking over the world, we'll just by leaving now." She elbowed Jack in the ribs, and he got the message. "Congrats on the rebirth and everything, but next time, try something new. Everyone expects evil things to come out of a crack in the ground and smoke pouring out."

The winter spirit grabbed Charlie by the waist and used the wind to lift them off the roof and into the air. "JACKSON FROST. YOU NEVER TOLD ME COULD FLY!" she screamed as they zoomed over the woods.

"Don't scream so loud, I might drop you. And it's not flying, me and the wind are just close friends!" he threatened and explained.

"Incorrect grammar. It's 'the wind and I', idiot."

"Grammar Nazi."

"Stalker."

"Smart alec!"

"Pervert!"

"Overprotective babysitter!"

"KIDNAPPER!"

"How am I a kidnapper?"

"Well, you took me and flew me away against my own will." She glared at him pointedly.

"Would you rather have me drop you and leave you to those new spirits?" he smirked.

"NO!" Charlie yelled.

"Then be quiet."

"Where are we going, anyway?" she grumbled.

"To North's workshop." Jack answered with a grin.

* * *

They finally arrived at the North Pole, or Santoff Clausen, Charlie muttering "I hate you." Or "We just barely met and you kidnapped me." Or "I _will _hit you with this." while raising her frying pan threateningly.

As Jack flew through the window, she dropped onto the floor and rolled, coming back up on her feet and looking around, letting out a small gasp. "Wow…" The winter spirit just nodded.

"I'll go and get North. You stay here and try not to break anything." He smirked, then disappeared down a hallway.

Charlie was still looking around in shock, taking in the intricate designs, until something pulled on her pant leg. She glanced down, and a little man, just a foot high, was looking up at her with blue eyes.

She crouched down and looked it over. It was wearing a red suit with a pointed hat and a bell at the end of it. "So, you're an elf aren't you?" The little thing nodded. "Huh. I knew you were short, but I never thought you were _this _short. You're kinda cute though…" she grinned and picked up the small creature, placing it on her shoulder. It sat down and used her hair to hold on.

Charlie looked around some more, then her eyes settled on a giant globe with little lights glowing. She smirked, walking over to it. Where the land was, it stuck out of the blue panels that represented water. She jumped onto one of the many small desks surrounding it, then took a flying jump, landing on the top of Venezuela, South America. Next, she placed her foot onto Cuba and reached her hand up to New Brunswick, Canada, pulling herself up to rest her foot in Lake Huron, America. She kept climbing until she finally reached the top of the globe.

The elf stood up on her shoulder, grabbing a strand of her hair for support and sticking his chest out. Charlie laughed, but quickly shut up as North and Jack came in. "Charlie? Where are you?" he called. She smirked and stayed as silent as possible, watching the two look around.

"They must have taken her! Ugh, why did I leave her alone in here?" he grumbled.

"Jack, are you sure that this was not a trick of your imagination?" The giant Russian asked, eyes narrowing.

"No! I know what I saw! And Charlie was with me! Come on, we have to go find her!" he exclaimed, using the wind to fly him to a window.

"Actually, that won't be necessary." She said in her British accent, sounding like the woman who was in purple.

The two looked around frantically. "Where are you?!" North boomed, swords drawn.

"Look up." Immediately, he swung his sword at her, not realizing it was just Charlie. She yelped in surprise and deflected it with her frying pan, which she somehow managed to bring with her to the top of the globe.

"Hey! Look before you throw pointy objects! That could've killed King Lancelot!" she shouted, lowering her frying pan.

"King… who? And how in the world did you manage to get on top of the globe, Charlie?!" Jack asked with a confused look on his face.

"How in the world… globe… that's a stupid pun. But to answer your questions, King Lancelot is this little guy," she gestured to the elf on her shoulder, who stuck his tongue out at Jack and gave a look of superior-osity to North before settling back down onto Charlies shoulder and leaning against her neck. "And for the second question, sea turtles. Two flying ones. I used some rope lying about and strapped them to my feet, and they flew me up here. Then they disappeared." She said in a completely normal voice.

"Right…" Jack rubbed his temples. "North, this is Charlie Jones. Charlie, this is North. Or Santa Claus as you know him."

"Actually, I now know him as the dude who almost killed me with his sword. I think we'll be great friends!" she grinned down at the Russian, who scratched behind his neck sheepishly.

"I apologize about sword…"

"It's fine, that would probably be just my fourth or fifth time dying today, but all in a day's work, right?" she shrugged and slid down the globe, landed neatly on her feet. She plucked the elf off of her shoulder and held it in her arms like a baby. Almost immediately, it fell asleep. "These things don't sleep much, do they?"

"No, they do not need sleep. Sometimes they just choose to sleep." North shrugged. "Now, what is this that I hear about new enemies?" he asked. Charlie tossed him his sword, which he caught with one hand.

She looked pointedly to Jack. He shot her a glare, but explained everything that had happened, only… "Wait, the woman wasn't pretty at all, she was wrinkled and ugly! Then that other guy… well, sure, his body kinda reminded me of Slenderman, but he's pretty handsome at the face." She protested, frowning.

"No, the guy was ugly, and the girl was beautiful. Maybe when you hit your head on that tree it messed up your brain." He smirked at her.

"This has nothing to do with the tree! I know what I sa-" she was cut off by North, who looked highly perplexed.

"I know who they are."

* * *

**Haha, I'm so evil! Two cliff-hangers! *ducks behind Charlie's frying pan* DON'T KILL ME! It had to be done! **

**I apologize; I absolutely fail at Russian accents. Just say whatever North says in a Russian accent, savvy? Good! **

**Now… all confusion about the new enemies will be cleared up in the next chapter! Be patient. I would like to thank every single one of my favoriters and followers and reviewers! I probably wouldn't have gone through with this story and edited the ideas had I not gotten a review or two on my chapters, so thank you!**

**Elysenjazz****: I never looked at it that way! I like you now :D**

**iMusicMonstrosity****: Thanks! I try to make things as funny as possible! I hope this chapter made you laugh! It sure did to me…**

**xxxxFrosbitexxxx: ****Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

**Chapter 5**

"The male is the personification of hate and the female is the personification of envy. They are brother and sister, and together they are the spirits of temptation. Jack, you see Ella as a beautiful woman so that it's easier to tempt you. Same for you, Charlie. Hate's name is Henry." North explained.

"Ella and Henry? Huh, I always thought those were names for nice people, but the world never ceases to surprise me." Charlie muttered.

"These two are bad news," The Russian continued. "We must contact the other Guardians immediately."

She grinned. "I've always wanted to meet the Easter Bunny."

North pulled a lever and the Northern Lights flooded out. Charlie gasped. "I've always wanted to see those, but I never knew that they were used as a summoning. Oh hey, Jack? My head feels like it's going to explode, so when the others arrive, be sure to catch me, because I don't want _another _bump on my head." She winked at the winter spirit.

"Will do, sir." He mock saluted back at her, just as a hole appeared in the ground and something grey popped out.

"This bettah be an emergency, North. I'm busy working full time trying to make up last year's incident." And Australian accent warned crossly.

"Hello to you too, Bunny." He grumbled, taking a bite of a cookie.

"Hey Kangaroo, I have someone I want you to meet!" Jack grinned, wrapping an arm around Charlies shoulders. She immediately pulled away and shot him a glare.

"You're going to make me catch a cold, idiot." She then turned to Bunnymund. "Hi, I'm Charlie. Love the accent, by the way!" she grinned at the Pooka.

Bunny straightened slightly. "Thanks, Sheila. I'm Bunnymu- wait. How old are ya?"

"Almost seventeen. Why?"

"Most adolescents don't believe in us anymore. They always stop after the age of twelve." North explained.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't believe at first. But Jack kinda saved me from drowning on a lake. Of course, that was before he made me almost break my skull on a tree and stalked me until I believed in him and you guys." She shot him a pointed a glare, but he just shrugged.

Suddenly, there was a fluttering of wings and a hummingbird/woman came flying in through the window, surrounded by miniature versions of herself. "Hello North, Bunnymund, Jack, and- oh! Who are you?" she asked in a bubbly tone, studying the girl with warm violet eyes.

"I'm Charlie. You're the Tooth Fairy, right?" Charlie asked eagerly.

"Yes, but you can call me Tooth." She giggled, then suddenly pried her mouth open and peered at her teeth. "Oh! Fantastic brushing job! Nice pink gums, too. They're almost in as good condition as Jacks!" The mini fairies crowded around, "ooing" and "awing", while Charlie glanced at Jack awkwardly, as she started to say "Is thi-"

He nodded, "Yes, it's completely normal." With a white grin on his face, which soon turned into terror as Tooth then turned to him.

It was her turn to smirk as Tooth probed around his gums, making small comments like, "Oh good! You're still flossing!" and "Look how pink your gums are!"

Charlie looked up to see a small golden man with spiky hair arriving through the window in a plane made out of golden sand. "And of course, the Sandman." She muttered, walking over to the little man. "So, you're the bringer of good dreams, yes?" He nodded, smiling at her. "Well, thanks for all of the inspiration for art projects!" she grinned. He gave her a thumbs-up.

"I'm Charlie. Charlie Jones." Sandman smiled at her again and made an image made out of sand of a beach. "Um, your name is beach?" she questioned, tilting her head slightly. He shook his head, then formed an arrow pointing to the sand on the beach. "Sand… Sandy! Your name is Sandy, and you're mute?" He gave a nod, a bright grin on his face. "I love picture charades." Sandy grinned at her again.

"Alright! Are we all here?" North boomed suddenly, making Charlie jump up.

"Yes sir!" she squeaked. Jack chuckled at her, making her blush and mutter "Shuddup."

"So," the Russian continued, "this is Jack's friend, Charlie Jones-" said girl coughed something that sounded suspiciously like "acquaintances", "but we have further matters to discuss. The fraternal twins, spirits of hate and envy, have risen again."

There was a collective gasp, except from Bunny. "And how do ya know tha'?" he asked, casually polishing a boomerang.

"Because me and Charlie saw them rise out of a crack in the road." Jack answered.

"Charlie and I." she corrected, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Grammar Nazi."

"Popsicle."

"Mortal."

"Spirit."

"Nanny!"

At this, Charlie paled. "Toby! Gran! I have to go back, I can't just leave them!" she was practically shouting, looking around for anything to get her back. Heck, at this point, even a teleporter wouldn't surprise her.

"Woah, hey, calm down! Your parents should be able to take care of them, won't they?" Jack asked, looking at her concernedly.

The teen paled even more and got a strained look on her face as she said quietly, not meeting any of their eyes, "They always take care of us. But Gran and Toby need me." Quickly, she blinked away what looked like tears and looked at them all. "I need to think and clear my head a bit. You guys keep discussing your… battle plans." And with that, she ran out of the main room, not even sure where she was going.

"What was that?" Tooth asked, all eyes trailing after her.

* * *

**Alright, so, I was going to put an angst/fluff scene after this, which turned it into a 1,000+ word chapter, but I am absolutely horrible at that stuff, so I just deleted it and now here we are with a freaking 950 word chapter. I am horrible.**

**You know what? Next chapter. I'm going to get started on it now, finish it sometime next week, and corner all of my Writer's Block demons into a corner and hit them repeatedly with a frying pan until I get 2,000+ words on the piece of digital paper. Run, you little WB demons… RUN AND COWER BEFORE ME! **

**Alright, well, since I'm bored I'm just gonna tell you random crap about my life. I'm dying the tips of my hair red with Kool-Aid, it lasts a week or a couple days. I hope it looks good! I'm officially addicted to Instagram. YOU WANNA SEE MAH FACE? My user is little_unusual_me, come and find me and we can fangirl together.**

**That is all. I don't own RotG, Merry Easter and April Fool's day, I'LL TALK TO YOU ALL NEXT WEEK!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As Charlie ran into the halls, she asked a passing yeti where the nearest balcony was. He grunted and pointed to a room. She nodded her thanks and ducked in. Inside the room, there was another door on the other side of the wall. Moving automatically, she dragged her feet to it.

Once on the balcony, she took a deep breath of clean air and closed her eyes for a minute. _They didn't know. I mean, how could they? I just barely met them! It's stupid to start crying about them whenever somebody asks or mentions them._ She kept telling herself. _Come on, Charlie. Man up!_

She opened her eyes again and let her gaze travel to the moon. "Look, I have a feeling that you 'chose me' for a stupid quest thing, but honestly, I'm not the hero type. Plus, this isn't like Harry Potter or any of those Disney movies; no, this is real life. Heroes don't exist, and if they did, I definitely wouldn't be one. Just because Harry and Ella came into the world all cliché-like doesn't mean that my life is going to go in the way that a book does. No, I'm either going to get hurt or die, or possibly both. Which, honestly, _would_ be fine with me, but it's not, because I need to take care of Gran and Toby, since Mom and Dad are gone." Charlie paused as something caught her eye; a pale reflection on the metal railing.

She sighed. "Jack, could you please not listen in when I bare my soul to a white circle in the sky?"

The winter spirit let a slight blush come onto his face. "Sorry, the Guardians sent me to see if you were alright."

She glanced at him through the corner of her eyes. "I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache."

"Are your parents…?"

"Dead? Yeah. I pretty much take care of Toby and Gran when she gets home. It's not as bad as you would think. It kind of… brought me and him closer." She answered, looking back up at the sky.

Jack's blue eyes sparked with realization. "Sorry for asking if your parents could take care of him."

Charlie turned to him with a small smirk on her face and held up a hand. "Hey, it's fine. You didn't know. But seriously, no chick flick moments dude."

He grinned back. "Alright. Do you want me to go back and tell North to ready the sleigh?"

"Nah, bro. We're going by magic snow globes. Jamie told me about them, and they sound epic!" her smirk grew as she spun around and headed back through the door, grabbing Jack by the hood and giving it a slight yank to make him follow. "Come on then, Frosty."

The duo had told the "Big Four", as Charlie took to calling them, that it was urgent that she go back to her house, but didn't tell them why. Apparently, the look the two teens had on their faces was enough to tell them not to pry.

North gave them one of his snow globes, but had forced Bunny to come with them, just in case. Both Guardians complained vigorously at that. That is, until Charlie pointed her frying pan threateningly at them.

As they arrived at her house, Charlie immediately frowned. "Something's wrong…" she paused, holding out a hand to stop Bunny and Jack. Reaching out with all of her senses, she listened.

"What do you hear?" Jack whispered as Bunny placed a paw on a boomerang.

"Nothing… absolutely nothing. Not Gran snoring, not Toby talking in his sleep. I hear nothing." And with that, she took off towards the stairs and turned the corner, yanking a door open and looking inside. "Toby?!" she yelled, running in and looking around the room when she saw that the bed was empty. He wasn't anywhere in the room.

"'Ey Sheila, they might've gone on a walk or somethin'." Bunny tried to sooth, green eyes glancing around the room.

"At three AM? I seriously doubt it!" she said, pointing to Toby's alarm clock. "No, they have to be around here somewhere. Bunny, check the basement. Jack, main floor. I'll keep searching the top floor. Go!" the look in her eyes was enough to make even Pitch do what she wanted. The boys gave a quick nod and ran-hopped, in Bunny's case- down the stairs.

Charlie gazed at the empty room and muttered, "Look, I would prefer if you weren't kidnapped, but if anything, don't be dead." Then ran off the check the other rooms.

She had checked the whole upper floor, in all the nook and crannies, but found no evidence. Shaking slightly, she sunk down against a wall and curled down into fetal position. This can't be happening… it's all a big joke… a dream… I'm going to wake up any time now and- Suddenly, there was a small poof and something fell onto her feet.

Charlie glanced down. It was a letter, written in curly handwriting.

"_We know you are allies with the Guardians, the very beings we have come to destroy. We know that your grandmother and little brother are very dear to you. So, we have taken them from you. If you want them back, take the Guardians to the lake; the same one you almost drowned in. That is our one and only deal. Hurry up, they could be dying!_

_Sincerely, H. & E."_

At that moment, Charlie's normally mischievous green eyes flashed a hard golden color as her face hardened with a strong hatred, and the paper burst in flames. She didn't even flinch, just watched it burn in her palm.

When it was nothing but a pile of ashes, she let it fall onto the ground, then stood up shakily. "Bunny! Jack!" Immediately, they all came up the stairs.

"Did you find anything?" Jack asked with worry in his eyes.

"Well, more like 'anything' presented it to me. It was a letter from the demonic duo." she couldn't help but grin slightly at her new nickname for Harry and Ella.

The two Guardians blinked before Bunny asked, "What did it say?"

"Oh, the usual. They have Gran and Tobey, they're holding them ransom at the lake, and I might mention that the ransom payment is the Guardians." she wrinkled her nose slightly. "Cliché. These people are old fashioned and extremely predictable. I, honestly, doubt that both of them combined are as strong as Pitch."

Jack and Bunny shared amused glances. "You're taking the whole fact that your grandma and little brother have been kidnapped by two evil, British spirit of hate and envy pretty calmly." the winter spirit noted.

Charlie just smirked. "Oh, trust me. I'm boiling on the inside and feel like making their stupid faces cave in with my frying pan, but you should know this about me: I'm extremely good at acting and hiding my emotions. However, the only way I'm keeping myself sane enough not to go after them right now is by thinking up a list of one-hundred-and-one ways to kill/majorly wound them. One last thing; they said that Gran and Tobey might be dying, so you guys better think up a battle plan before I go mentally insane." she grinned at them with slight malice in her green eyes.

The two Guardians shared a concerned look. "Alrigh' Sheila, let's get ya back to the Pole and we can figure everthin' out." Bunny said, fishing a snow globe out of one of his bags. He smashed it on the ground and whispered, "North Pole."

Charlie cast one more sad look around the house before jumping in behind Jack. Immediately, they tumbled out onto the wood floor of Santa's workshop in a tangle of limbs (and a frying pan). Bunny had landed neatly on his feet, looking down with an amused glance at the pair that were trying to untangle one from the other.

Once they had finally gotten free, Charlie stood and brushed herself off before offering a hand to Jack. He gratefully took it and she pulled him up before turning to the other amused Guardians.

"So, how did it go? You were gone for nearly an hour and half!" North finally asked.

"Kidnapped. You're the ransom. The usual stuff." she said casually.

"Oh, sweetie, that's horrible! We'll get them back, don't you worry." Tooth said, zipping over and gripping the teen in a death hug.

Charlie awkwardly hugged her back. "Uh, thanks Tooth." … "I appreciate it, but you can stop hugging me now." she whispered to the fairy after a minute.

She backed and gave her a shy, apologizing smile. The mortal grinned back, before turning back to the rest of the Guardians. "So, what kind of battle plans did you make while I was gone?"

**So, I discovered that writer's block demons are immune to frying pans. Well, screw them! I have Tumblr now! So, I pulled this 1,475 chapter out of a magical hat!**

**Hey, blame the hat for me taking so long to write it!**

No, blame her. It's her fault.

**Shut up, Charlie.**

Make me.

**Never use those words against the author of your own story! Because I **_**can **_**make you shut up. Forever.**

You wouldn't!

**Oh, but I would! Wouldn't it be shame if…**

Shut up!

**Henry and Ella were to…**

Not another word.

**Kill you?**

…

**And that is how you own your OC, my beloved peasants!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my fricking glob, guys, I'M SO SORRY I FORGOT TO EXPLAIN ABOUT THE FIRE STUFFS ON THE LAST CHAPTER! What I meant to say in the last author's note was: "OoOoh, Charlie's got a secret!" Yeah, I know. I'm a horrible person. Oh, I don't anything, by the way. ONWARD!**

**Chapter 7**

North shifted uncomfortably and avoided eye contact with Charlie. "Well… we have not exactly settled on plan yet.."

The teen groaned and face-palmed herself. "Then what, _exactly,_ have you been doing for the last hour and thirty minutes?"

Now it was time for Tooth to go shifty-eyed. "Umm… would you believe me if I said collecting teeth?" Charlie promptly shook her head.

Sandy stepped up, with a slightly angered expression on his face as he created a scene with his dreamsand of North and Tooth switching between arguing and ordering around mini-fairies/yetis while dreamsand Sandy stood nearby, waving his hands around frantically and trying to get their attention.

The pair glanced at eachother sheepishly then gave Sandy an I'm-sorry-for-ignoring-you-again look.

Charlie dropped her head into her hands and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Idiots." Then she looked back up at them. "Well, if you didn't plan while we were gone, start now, since all of us are here."

There was a pause, then they all started talking at once. She could only catch bits of the conversations; "We could just charge in, we have the element of surpri-" "Nah, they're expectin' u-" "-trap for them!"

Charlie sighed and said quietly to herself. "Behold, the great Guardians of Childhood." She suddenly felt all of the day's exhaustion wash over her and climbed up the staircase that she had recently found out led to the roof. With a huff of tiredness, she sunk down so she was lying on her back on the slanted roof and closed her eyes, preventing tears to spill over. _Not again. Not today._

She could still hear them bickering from the open window below her (which she had opened), but it was almost silent, and her headache was already ebbing away. Tucking her arms behind her head, she gazed up at the stars. There were so many that she could see here than in Burgess.

There was a gentle gust of wind and a light _thunk_, which earned a small smile from Charlie. "Hey, Jack."

"Hey." The winter spirit greeted. "Mind if I'm here?" he asked.

"Well, I wouldn't have opened that window if I minded, would I?" she shot back, patting the space next to her in a gesture for him to sit. He followed the instruction and set his staff down next to him.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself, Jack Frost." He gave her a confused look, which she rolled her eyes at. "Favorite color, your past, adventures, stuff like that. You know a bit about me, it's only fair that I get to know about you." she explained.

He looked thoughtful for a second. "Well, I started with my mortal life as Jackson Overland. I lived in a small village in Burgess, three hundred years ago, with my little sister and my mom. My dad died when I was 5 from a sickness going around. We were shepherds." Charlie's eyes darted to his staff. Well, that would explain it.

"One day, I was taking my sister out ice-skating for the first time on the frozen lake in the woods. I was an idiot, I didn't check to see if the ice was strong enough. She went right on, and when she was straight in the middle, it started to crack. I-I told her to pretend that it was hopscotch, like we played every day. When she was close enough, I hooked my staff around her waist and pulled her away, but it sent me forward, making me take her place."

This story was sounding all too familiar to Charlie. Heck, it only happened to her… two days ago? She didn't even know anymore. It could have been a month since the incident and it would've felt the same to her. But she did remember the panic that had shot through her, for her family and friends, for her safety as well, and it was one of the worst feelings in the world. So she reached over and clasped his hand in hers and gave it a quick squeeze.

"I fell through. The last thing I heard was her screaming my name. The water paralyzed me, froze my bones. That's when I died, and the moon revived me as a spirit. In my human life, I actually had brown hair like your yours and brown eyes."

She grinned at him, hiding the sorrow behind it. She knew he didn't want pity, only for someone to understand and not treat him differently because of his unfortunate past. "And I always thought you had a thing against brunettes."

He snorted. "Why would you think that?"

"Because of the way you and I talk. Basically arguing back and forth, occasional sarcastic remark."

Jack smirked, "That's only because you're an infuriating, sassy teen who doesn't care who she insults. Heck, Charlie, even if you were face-to-face with death himself you would probably back him until he gave up trying to take you."

She gave a little bow and a hand flourish. "Thank you. I try." Then she returned his smirk and said, "And you're a big-headed, slippery trickster who flies around freezing kids' butts off and creating ice puddles. But hey, at least I finally found someone who I can tease relentlessly and they won't get offended, just tease me back."

"What kind of teasing to you mean?" he asked with a little eyebrow wiggle.

"Shut up, Jack!" Charlie glared, smacking him on the back of the head. "You know exactly what kind I'm talking about. No need for a dirty mind."

"Alright, alright. I was kidding!" he laughed and rubbed his head. "I'm not _that _much of a perv."

She raised an eyebrow at him as her smirk grew.

"Shut up!" he glared, then, in a quick movement, put her in a headlock.

"Argh! Jack, let me go!" she protested, trying to pull his arm off.

"Nope, you brought this on yourself." He laughed, then promptly gave her a noogie.

"Hey! Come on, you've had your fun, let me go!" she yelped, slipping out of his grip and giving him a violent glare. Jack didn't mind, though. He was too busy grinning like an idiot at her. That is, until she got a sly look on her face.

"Two can play at that game." And with that, she pounced on him, tickling his sides and poking his stomach. '_Huh. So the spirit of winter is ticklish. Interesting.'_ He squirmed around, laughing and trying to get away.

"Stop! Please stop!" he wheezed. "I can't breathe!" Charlie grinned triumphantly at him as she let him catch his breath.

"Alright, you win. Shall we go inside?"Jack asked, standing up and offering her a hand. She nodded and took it, allowing him to help her up.

"I hope they made a plan, because it's dawn." He glanced towards the horizon and realized she was right. The golden tip of the sun was just peeking over the icy tundra.

The duo returned inside and watched with disbelief as the Guardians continued to argue. Charlie let a hand go up and rub her forehead before walking in front of the four and placing her hands on her hips and letting out a loud whistle. All eyes were on her in an instant. "Look, guys, I understand that you want to help me, and I'm grateful for that, really. But you've been arguing all night. The sun is rising and you haven't come up with anything. So, could you please stop arguing for two minutes and _think?_" she paused for a bit of dramatic effect.

"Thank you. Now, a surprise attack is good, but they'd be expecting that, unless they've underestimated us to be kittens. A trap would also be great, but how in the world would we set it up when they're on the lake and are probably on high alert? No, we can't take that chance. If one of us steps on a twig by accident it'll blow the cover for all of us. But I've been thinking of a different way…"

* * *

**Ta-da! a cliff-hanger! Sorry-not-sorry!**

**Anyway, do you guys like the two-page conversation I slipped in there? And the brother-sister-type moment I put in there? I, personally, think it was adorable.**

**Side note: The more you guys review, the faster the chapters come. I would like to thank my one-and-only review for chapter 6: ****DayDreamer425,**** I love you forever! When I saw your review, my mind went into overdrive and I wrote and entire page!**

**Also, go and listen to Winterspell by Two Steps From Hell, it is amazing and magical and- just listen to it!**

**I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, and since school's out, that shouldn't be too terribly long!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Don't own nuffin'!**

**Chapter 8**

All the Guardians were staring at the teen like she had gone mad. Jack was the first to speak. "No way, it's never going to work! They aren't stupid!"

Charlie gave him a look. "Do you think I don't know that? I had all night to think on it. I may have only met Henry and Ella once, but I could practically feel the power radiating off of them. But sometimes clever people think too hard and they don't understand. Sometimes they get power hungry; let their lust for it take over their mind. I think that that's what's going to happen with them."

"Yeah, but mate, what if they don't? They could jus' kill ya." Bunny pointed out.

"They won't. Trust me, I've been thinking about this for a while. The way they looked at me when Jack and I were on the rooftop was… strange. Look, I'm good at reading people. Will you just trust me on this?" she huffed, staring at her shoes. "Reading people" wasn't a lot to build trust on.

"Sweetie, we do trust you," came Tooth's voice. "It's just that, it's our job to protect the kids all around the world, and it would hurt us too much to see you hurt." Sandy nodded in approval.

Charlie looked at them all again. "But you see, that's where you messed up. I'm not a kid; I'm a sixteen year old. An adolescent. Not quite adult and not quite kid."

"North? You're awfully quiet. What are your thoughts?" Tooth asked, turning everyone's attention to the big Russian.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, well. I think that leetle girl's plan is extremely dangerous, could fail if she did anything wrong, and—" The girl's head hung slightly and the rest of the Guardians looked sorry for her, but ever so slightly triumphant and relieved. "Absolutely brilliant!" all heads snapped towards him.

"WHAT?! North, are ya bloody mad?!"

"Have you been hitting the beer again?"

"North! She could get hurt!"

*Signs of disapproval from Sandy*

Meanwhile, Charlie was grinning like an idiot at North. To his surprise, she ran over and threw her arms around his stomach, since she couldn't quite reach his neck. "Thanks a ton, North!"

He laughed and rubbed her head before turning to the others. "The girl is old; we cannot treat her as child. She will do great at her part in this, I am sure."

"But what if you get hurt?" Jack asked, aiming the question at the beaming teen.

She shrugged. "Then I get hurt. I'm not a flower, I've been single-handedly taking care of Gran and Tobey for, what, nine years or so?" she began muttering quietly, doing the math. "Let's see, mom died when I was eight, so… six, seven, eight. Eight years!" she said brightly. "Point is, I've been in sticky situations quite a lot. Sure, I get a scratch, brake a bone, but those are fixable. Whatever happens, I'll be fine."

"What if ya die?" Bunny asked.

"I won't. It won't come to that. Trust me." Charlie was determined, and had more courage at that moment than she ever had. Well, except maybe when she was little and was pretending to be the cookie ninja, stealing (and eating) as much cookies as she could take before getting caught. Which was quite a lot.

Bunny sighed. "Sheila, yer as stubborn as a mule, but I like ya."

She grinned at him. "To the sleigh, then?"

"To the sleigh!"

They all climbed in quickly, albeit Bunny a bit reluctantly, and North started it up as the elves finished polishing the reindeers' hooves and the yetis opened the doors to the ice tunnel. The deer were getting restless, bucking and snorting.

Finally, everything was ready to go. North flicked the reins and off they went, shooting into the tunnel. The poor Pooka was gritting his teeth and clutching the side of the sleigh like a lifeline. Meanwhile, Charlie was laughing and throwing her arms in the air.

"I hope you enjoy the loopty-loop!" the Russian cackled as the flipped upside-down for a moment.

"Woo-hoo!" the mortal yelled as they finally flew off the ramp and were airborne. "That. Was. AWESOME!"

"Think that was awesome? Check out this view!" Jack called, leaning over the edge. Charlie came over and gasped.

"Whoa." Snowy hills rolled in all directions, sparkling in the sunlight. Suddenly, movement caught her eye. "Hey, look!" she pointed to a mother polar bear guiding her baby across the icy terrain.

Bunny watched the two from his seat on the other side of the sleigh. After a few minutes of observation, he finally made his conclusion. They liked each other. Simple as that. Even the stupid groundhog could have seen it. But no, Bunny wasn't going to play match-maker for them. He wanted to see how they would react to it themselves.

While Bunny was thinking about this, Jack had some thoughts of his own. He looked at Charlie through the corner of his eye. With the wind blowing her brown hair back, he finally took the time to take in her appearance. 'Man, she really is pretty. No, not even pretty. She's beautiful.' Then he blinked at shook his head. What was wrong with him? She was just a friend who he met yesterday!

Charlie was having basically the same thoughts, really. Though, she had the great ability to blame it on hormones. 'That's right, it's just hormones messing with my brain. Jack isn't actually cute, it's just hormones!' she told herself over and over again.

Suddenly, they sleigh jerked to the right. "North, you alright?" Tooth asked, rubbing her bumped head.

"Was not me! Or the deer!" he protested. There was another jerk, stronger this time. It sent the teen sprawling into Bunny, who was slammed against the side of the sleigh. Then came the last jerk. It sent the sleigh upside-down, emptying it's passengers into the air.

Charlie let out a yelp as she spun through the air. "Sheila!" the Pooka yelled, grabbing her wrist and steadying her out. "Come on, spread out yer arms and legs, should slow yer fall!" he shouted, doing so himself. The teen did as commanded, and watched with terror as the snow covered ground approached quickly.

"Look, there's a snow drift right beneath us. It should catch our fall, hopefully preventin' death." He pointed out in a soothing voice. He just got a stiff nod from her.

It was only a matter of seconds until they hit the ground, then Charlie felt a piercing pain everywhere in her body before she blacked out.

Everything was blurry when she finally opened her eyes again. Groaning, she propped herself up on her elbows. For a second, she couldn't remember anything, then it all came flooding back. The sleigh. Falling. Pain. Bunny, Jack, North, Tooth, Sandy. She scrambled to her feet, but immediately cried out in pain when she put weight on her left foot and glanced down. Her ankle was swollen slightly, and she doubted that her foot was suppose to bend that way.

"Alright. One thing at a time, Charlie. First inspect yourself, then look for the others." She told herself, and carefully put pressure on different parts of her body. Her tailbone was bruised, but not broken. Her pinky on her right hand was broken, her forehead was bleeding, and her ankle was sprained. 'Huh, not bad for a fall that high.' She thought to herself.

Now, to get out and find the others. She climbed out of the snowdrift and brushed herself off. It was sunset, meaning she had been unconscious for around ten hours, possibly. As she turned in circles, looking for any imprint of anyone, she became aware of how bad the situation was. She was lost in Antarctica in the middle of winter with a sprained ankle and broken finger, had her grandmother and little brother held ransom, and was utterly lost and alone. It was hard to find any type of bright side to her situation.

Letting out a long sigh, she sat on the cold snow and recalled their to-be plan that was going to save her family. She was stumble onto the lake, crying and looking broken. When the spirits showed up, she would tell them how the Guardians refused to help her when she said that they were the ransom for her elder and younger. They would have fake pity towards her and tell her what lying, cruel people the Guardians were and give her the offer to join them. She would pretend to accept, as long as they let Gran and Toby live. then the Guardians would come and kill Henry and Ella, free the two mortals, and BOOM! Instant happy ending.

Not like it was going to be that easy. Nothing ever was.

Charlie curled into herself, beginning to shiver. She really should have thought to bring a heavier coat. After all, it was the middle of winter.

'You know, this would be a good time to use the thing.' a voice in her mind said, probably her conscience.

'No! I promised myself I would never do it again! Not after... the accident.' she thought back to herself.

'You've already broke that promise when you set the note on fire. What does it matter if you do it again, to save your life?' it shot back.

'People have died from it!'

'Nobody's out here except for you, and it could save your life.' it replied.

'Where am I going to find something to light it on?' she asked triumphantly.

'Think. Think as hard as you can, the answer is closer than you think.' the voice fell silent after that.

Charlie glared daggers at the frozen wasteland. She was not going to use it again. people always got hurt, and Bunny couldn't be far away.

Wait.

Bunny couldn't be far away. He had held her wrist as they fell, so he must be near! She shot up and began digging in the snow desperately for an hour, until she finally hit something soft. A small smile of relief lit her face as she uncovered the Pooka's face. Digging more desperately than ever, she quickly uncovered his fluffy body and tugged it out of the snow, wincing whenever she put weight on her foot. She dragged him under the shelter of a mini frozen cliff.

She placed a freezing hand on his chest and felt the reassuring beat of his heart. The teen attempted to warm his frozen ears with her breath, but it wasn't doing much good. Sighing, she knew what she had to do.

Slowly, her hands grew red and as warm as embers from a fire. She rubbed them on the Guardian's ears and slowly down his hands and to his toes. Next, she focused on herself, rubbing her hands on her arms and keeping goosebumps at bay.

* * *

An hour passed, and Charlie had fallen asleep against the fluffy pillow of the Easter Bunny.

He was just opening his green eyes, feeling strangely warm. Bunny glanced around, slightly confused, until it came back. The jerks. Them tipping over. Falling and crashing. The human girl! He quickly sat up, sniffing the air, only to find her right next to him, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Bunny! You're awake!" she grinned, jumping up and hugging him, until a hissing sound started and the Pooka winced. The teen pulled away, looking at her hands, which were glowing red. She quickly put them out and pulled them behind her back.

Bunny looked her her. "Glad yer okay, but what the bloody hell was that?"

She let out a sigh. "No good excuse will get me out of this, will it?"

"Nope."

"Alright, I guess you deserve to know. I'm not sure how to explain it... I've just been able to do... this," she held out her hand and it caught fire, Bunny letting out a gasp. "as long as I remember. I just hate it, because whenever I try to contain it it breaks out and hurts people." she murmured, closing her fist and the flames disappeared.

"I-um, well, that's kinda... nifty." he finally managed to get out.

"Please don't tell the others, I want to keep it secret." she pleaded, giving him her best puppy-eyes. 'Wow, I haven't had to use these in a while.' she thought to herself, hoping she was doing it right instead of looking like a goldfish with bugging-out eyes.

Meanwhile, the Easter Guardian was having trouble keeping his strict demeanor. 'How does she do those so good? She mus' practice 'em in the mirror or somethin'.' he thought to himself, giving in. "Fine. Jus' between me and you."

Charlie grinned. "Thank you, Bunny. It means a lot."

"Yeah, alrigh', alrigh'. Come on, we gotta go find the others." he couldn't help a little grin spread onto his face though, that is, until the teen's eyes fell to her ankle and her smile dropped.

"I can't." she said simply.

Suddenly, a roar split the air and the ground shook with pounding footsteps.

* * *

**And so, the great secret is revealed! Well, explained at least.**

**Looks like I'm on a steady roll of updating (slightly)! Ok, look, this would've been up last week, but I went to camp and was pretty much denied the computer since my sisters were hogging it, but hey, I just got done with 5 1/4 fricking pages just 2 minutes ago. I guess I left it on a cliffhanger, but I couldn't help it!**

**Anyway, I love you my two reviewers. My friend was over when I was checking my reviews, and I literally started freaking out and kissed the screen when I saw your reviews. LET ME LOVE YOU.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Rise of the Guardians. Neither do you. Probably.**

**Chapter 9**

Both heads snapped towards the sound. Blundering towards them was a white, fluffy, huge, polar bear, with a red stained muzzle, huge, sharp claws and teeth, and it was almost exactly Charlie's size on all fours, and she was 5'3'', so you can imagine how tall it was on just two legs.

"Ah, nuts. Why do we get the worst luck in the world?" Charlie wondered aloud, scrambling to her feet, keeping her weight on the one that wasn't sprained.

"I dunno, but I honestly would not like to become pola' bear chum." Bunny replied, taking out a boomerang.

She frowned, trying to think of something, until her mind rested on the only thing she could find. "I don't know how long this'll work, but when it comes close enough, jump aside, like a matador in a bullfight. at least we can prolong our death for a little longer. Then split up so it can only go after one of us at a ti-NOW!" Both of them jumped to different sides as the bear whizzed past. It tried to stop and change directions, but the snow and ice was slippery, and all it managed to do was rotate to its side so that its face didn't get squished to the side of the ice cliff.

The human and Guardian both split into different directions, but not enough to lose sight of each other as Fluffy-as Charlie had taken to calling him-got shakily to his paws (she also decided it was a dude, due to the enormous size). He was mad. His black eyes were red rimmed, and they could practically feel all the hate radiating off of him. _'Hold on,'_ Charlie paused._ 'Hate.'_ Henry. That's when she realized, it was linked. The sleigh throwing them out, this polar bear, they bewitched it. It sounded far-fetched, but if she squinted, she could see a bit of red wisps coming off its fur. She didn't know what they were trying to do, but they were playing dirty.

Fluffy jerked around to her and began running forward. What went through her mind right then was basically a long string of screaming swear words which should never be repeated as she turned and ran, wincing repeatedly as she put pressure on her ankle, but in a few seconds he was upon her, slamming his muzzle into her back and knocking the breath out of her as she hit the ground.

He turned her over with a claw and kept a heavy paw on her chest, probably feeling her rapid heartbeat and ragged breaths. Charlie was paralyzed, she couldn't even blink, just stared at the mouth hanging over her face with dribbling saliva and razor sharp teeth that were about to snap close, and waited for the end.

It never came. Instead, its body became rigid, and the red-rimmed eyes turned glassy. It then tipped onto its side, leaving the teen free of the weight on her chest. She was able to move again, and gratefully accepted the freezing hand that helped her up to meet worried, baby blue eyes.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, immediately wrapping her arms around him tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut, processing what just happened. Dumped out of the sleigh by Henry and Ella, sprained ankle and broken pinkie, angry dude polar bear named Fluffy attacks, also by the evil spirits, Charlie almost died, _again,_ and Jack saved her face from being mauled. Lovely.

As she came to her senses, she pulled away and smiled sheepishly at him. "Thanks. And hey, you're alive! Good job."

He gave her a grin. "Well, duh. I'm the spirit of winter, of course I can survive the cold snow. You okay?"

"I am now." She immediately regretted saying that._ 'Idiot, that makes you sound like a stupid damsel-in-distress that's always needing saving. Stupid, stupid, stupid...'_ While she was mentally punishing herself, Bunny wandered over.

"So, the show pony is alive. Darn it, I thought we had finally gotten rid of 'ya." He teased, but they could both see in his eyes that he was relieved that he was safe.

Jack smirked at him. "Nice to see you too, Cottontail."

"Where's the other three?" the teen butted in.

He frowned. "You mean you guys haven't found them yet?" They shook their heads sadly.

"I think I know how we crashed, though." the two spirits stared at her expectantly. "That polar bear had these sort of red wispy smoke stuff coming off it, only visible if you looked really hard. That's Henry's doing. Now, this is more of guess, but I think that they tipped the sleigh too. They either want to kill us or prolong us." she glanced down at her ankle and sat down in the snow. It was swollen up half its usual size, though it must have gone down a bit from the cold snow.

She frowned at it and untied the piece of cloth that she remembered was still around her head, and realized that she was wearing long pajama pants with a (thankfully) long pajama shirt, along with her sneakers. She tied the cloth around the wound and rubbed some more snow on it. "Screw this. I'm useless." she muttered as she stared at her aching pinky that was bent funny.

Jack frowned. "How did that happen?" He bent down to examine her ankle better.

She shrugged, as though it was nothing. "Just landed funny when the sleigh jerked."

"Can I…?" he trailed off. She nodded, setting her jaw while he unwrapped the cloth and examined it. "It looks pretty bad." he concluded after a minute. "After all, you've been walking on it for a while."

"Frost, have ya actually see a sprained ankle before? I don't mean that in a rude way, I jus' don't want ya accidentally messing up the sheila's ankle even more." Bunny interrupted.

He kept his attention focused on her limb. "Of course I do. I've been on my own for three hundred years, I've been in worse situations. Twisted something, or broken something and had to find out a way by myself. I've, uh, had a lot of practice." He reached forward and gently put his hand on the swollen area. Immediately, she flinched away.

"Sorry, just expected pain." she smiled apologetically and put her foot back in place.

"I'm just gonna cover it with frost, put the wrapping back on, then coat it in ice. It might hurt a little, but not too much." The winter spirit explained as he placed his hand back on her ankle. Fern-like frost crept around it, like a big anklet.

"Geez, that's cold." the teen muttered under her breath, resisting every nerve in her body to warm it up and melt the frost as Jack wrapped the brown cloth around her ankle. Once it was secured accordingly, he gently tapped it when his staff and and it was covered in ice. "HOLY MOTHER OF-" she broke off as she saw their amused gazes. "Shut up, it's_ freezing_."

"Yeah. It's ice." the young Guardian replied with a cocky smirk. She glared at him and slugged him on the shoulder. "Hey!" he chuckled, preparing a snowball.

"Alrigh', alrigh', that's enough, ya two dingos." Bunny butted in good-naturedly, knocking the snowball out of the spirit's hand. "Come on, we gotta find the others. Jack, you'd better carry Charlie."

The said teen groaned while the other blushed slightly. "Come on, I can walk well enough on my own!"

He crossed his arms. "Prove it." She opened her mouth as though she was going to protest, but then quickly shut it and and took a few wobbly steps forward before stumbling and catching herself with her hands before she got a face full of snow.

"Fine."

So, she found herself in Jack Frost's arms, bridal style, in the middle of the North Pole, looking for Santa, the Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy with the Easter Bunny along side her so that they could travel to North America and destroy the impersonification of hate and envy with a sprained ankle covered in ice and a broken pinkie. Lovely.

That's when she realized that she hadn't slept all night, and exhaustion overtook her. Her green eyes fluttered closed, and dreams of Burgess invaded her mind.

* * *

Jack glanced down to see that Charlie had fallen asleep. He smiled softly._ 'She's been through a lot and stayed up all night, she must've been tired earlier but didn't tell us.'_

Bunny looked over to see his fellow Guardian smiling at the sleeping girl and smirked slightly. "Ya fancy her, Frost?" he asked, startling him.

A deep blue blush crept onto his cheeks and he ducked his head. "No, of course not. W-what would make you think th-that?" he stuttered

"It's clear as day! The way ya look at 'er, and I'll admit that she's a pretty decent mortal." he laughed.

He shrugged, still ducking his head. "I suppose, but we're just friends! Plus, like you said, she's a mortal, and I'm… not." he let out an almost-silent sigh.

Bunny glanced at his teammate and placed a furry paw on his small shoulder. "Don't let that keep ya down, anything is impossible."

As though that had triggered something in her brain, Charlie quoted in her sleep, "'When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, has to be the truth.'-Sherlock Holmes." Both of them glanced down at her and cracked a grin.

"Alright, so I might, just maybe, like her a little bit in_ that way_." he admitted.

"Atrocious grammar, Jack." she murmured, her eyes cracking open half way before fluttering close again and her head drooped to the side as his face and ears turned deep blue.

Bunny opened his mouth to say something with a smirk on his face, but the winter spirit raised a hand. "Not. A. Word."

* * *

As Charlie entered the dream world, she realized that she was staring at her six year old version of herself, trying the best she could to help set up a tent with her parents. Marianne had long, straight, fiery-red hair and green eyes, while her father had scruffy brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes.

They laughed as their daughter attempted to lift the hammer to squish the stakes into the ground, but Marianne nudged Jeff to go help her. So, he walked behind her and slid his arms over her shoulders and helped her grip the hammer's handle with his own bigger ones. He led the hammer over the stakes and held one in place with one hand and guided her with the other. Slowly but steadily, they got all of them him

Little Charlie giggled. "Thanks, Dad." She never was one to call him "daddy", or her mother "mommy".

He ruffled her hair. "It was mostly you, and just a little me." he chuckled.

For a moment, she was pulled back into half-consciousness to hear Jack say, "Alright, so I might, just maybe, like her a little bit in that way."

"Atrocious grammar, Jack." she just had time to mutter before falling asleep again.

The scene had changed to the next night. "I hope it doesn't rain." Marianne murdered as she squinted at the storm clouds that were gathering. Sixteen-year-old Charlie went rigid. This was the night her father died.

"If it does, we'll just pile into the car and spend the night there." her father replied, walking out to stand next to his wife.

"Or we just need to get a better tent that actually offers protection against weather." She teased, pecking him on the nose.

"Ew, mom, really?"

She smirked at her daughter. "Kissing is just a sign of affection, like a hug, or me tucking you in at night. Or… tickling." She lunged forward and began poking her in the sides, making Charlie collapse on the forest floor in a fit of giggles.

"Stop it! Stop!" she gasped out, trying to wiggle out of her grasp. As a last resort, she curled herself into a ball, still shaking with laughter.

"Alright, honey, don't suffocate her." Her dad laughed. With a triumphant smirk, she got up and pulled the small girl up with her and wrapped her into a hug.

"See? Affection." They all laughed, then the scene changed to night.

"I'm going to get some more firewood. I'll be back soon!" Her father smiled and waved at his wife and daughter who were huddled by the dying fire.

"Alright, but come back soon, It's almost dark and the storm clouds are coming!" her mother called.

"Yes, ma'am." he disappeared into the forest. On instinct, teen Charlie ran after him.

"Dad, no!" she yelled, trying to grab his shoulder, but her hand passed right through him. There was nothing she could do but follow him deep into the forest.

He took out his hatchet and began hacking at a thick tree branch. Soon, it fell and he cut it in half so he could carry the pieces without them getting in the way too much. He had to walk for a bit longer before he found another branch suitable for firewood, but by then the sun was disappeared behind the mountains and the sky was a pinkish-purple.

"Go back, please Dad!" she pleaded weakly. "You have to." her voice broke at the end of the sentence.

But he could not hear her desperate voice, and kept walking on. Soon, it was just like she always imagined it to be. Night fell, and the moon and stars were overcome by the storm clouds that were spilling over. There was a loud boom of thunder, and then it was pouring.

A few seconds later, it was over. He dropped the wood and the lightning hit the ground, frying him to a crisp. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she rushed over to him. "Dad!"

Suddenly, she blinked her eyes open to someone shaking her. She sat up quickly, taking in her surroundings. That's right, she was on a quest-sort-of-thing with the Guardians. Her dad died ten years ago, she just had another nightmare. Sleepily, she rubbed the side of face, to find it moist. She had been crying in her sleep, and she was staring into Jack's eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Uhh…" she paused as the awake half of her mind processed what he was saying. "Yeah! Yeah, just… just a memory dream… thingy." She finally answered. Charlie shook her head slightly, successfully waking herself up all the way. "I'm just having a sucky day, aren't I? First the sleigh, then the polar bear, my ankle and finger, and now bad flipping memory drea-oh look, that isn't white." She pointed to a small yellow-ish, sparkly stuff further ahead (don't think dirty!).

Jack helped her up and the trio walked forward to examine.

"Sandy's dreamsand!" Bunny exclaimed as it sifted through his fingers. "Brilliant find, sheila!" he congratulated, then began digging around the sand was found. "Jeez, I'm freezin'!" he muttered under his breath.

He kept digging for two more minutes, until all three of them got snowballs to the head. All of them whipped around to see a smug looking, small golden man standing with his hands behind his back.

_"Sandy!"_

* * *

**Well, here it is! Finally, after all this time! I got a six page chapter up right in time for school to start. Yup, I begin on Monday, so I'm afraid I'll only be able to write during free time at school or on the weekends *sobs in corner***

**Ahem. Anyway, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LOVELY REVIEWS! You make me feel special :3**

**MidnightWolf191:**

**Yup! I wasn't even planning for her to be, but then I was like, but then, how can she survive in the flipping ****_North Pole_**** in the middle of ****_winter_**** in her ****_pajamas?_**

**Daww, thank you! **

**Me and you both, I love Bunny! So does Charlie!** I never said such a thing. **I created you, and you do. But you love Ja-ack mo-ore!** Shut up, no I don't! **I'm the author, and I say you do. There. **You're so mature. And yeah, I probably would fire you, Midnigh- ***Covers mouth* No, you would be swallowed up so much by guilt that you'd believe that you deserved it.** Mmf-mm! **DID YOU JUST LICK MY HAND?!** **DO HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE THAT HAS BEEN? ****_*The author has cut out the rest of the conversation to keep all of her followers following this story. Thank you for you patience.*_**

**puzzlingnerd57:**

**Correctimundo!**

**Anamusedeader (Guest)**

**Thanks a ton! Here, have a cookie! (::)**

**I'mSufferingOfCerealBoredom:**

**Love the username, by the way! **

**Yeah, it's the worst. I can't say that this was 'soon', but I did get it up, and that counts for something, right? **

**Thanks for all the reviews! And look, I put a bit of fluff in here too ^-^ What could Henry and Ella be up too, and where could Tooth and North be? Also, is Charlie ever go to get some better clothes?!** Of course I am, once you decide if you want to have winter ny- **Shut. Up. Now. Unless you want me to murder another person close to you. You know for fact that I still have the idea of killing off your- **Fine, I'll shut up. *mutters* for now.


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